Dassault order and delivery figures for 2017 show an upswing in Falcon orders. The company delivered the same number of Falcons and Rafales as the previous year.
Dassault Aviation has announced order and delivery figures for its civil and military aircraft in 2017.
The year was marked by further delays and, ultimately, the cancellation of the Falcon 5X programme, following persistent problems with the aircraft's Safran Silvercrest engine. The 5X delays had resulted in 12 cancellations in 2016, followed by a further three last year.
In spite of this, sales of the other members of the Falcon family picked up pace during the year. A total of 41 Falcon bizjets were ordered, compared with 33 in 2016. The increase in net orders was even more pronounced — 38 vs. 21.
On the military aircraft side, an agreement was signed with Qatar in December 2017 on the exercise of an option for 12 Rafales. The company says that this order will be booked when the first down-payment is received. Rafale orders in 2016 comprised 36 aircraft for India.
Falcon deliveries were stable — 49 aircraft handed over in 2017, four more than the company had forecasted, and the same number as the previous year.
Nine new-build Rafales were delivered (1 to France and 8 to Egypt), the same as in 2016, when France received six aircraft and Egypt three. In 2017 the company also delivered one Navy Rafale retrofitted to the F3 standard for the French Navy.
The backlog as of 31st December 2017 includes 101 Rafales (31 for France and 70 for export) and 52 Falcons (including an unspecified number of Falcon 5Xs), compared to 110 Rafales and 63 Falcons at the end of 2016.
The company will release its full year annual results on 8th March 2018, along with deliveries guidance for 2018.